Determinants of late antenatal care presentation in rural and peri-urban communities in South Africa: A cross-sectional study.

To investigate and compare determinates for delayed first presentation to antenatal care (ANC) services.A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst pregnant women attending their first ANC visit in rural Capricorn District and peri-urban Tlokwe sub-district communities in South Africa. Data collection included questionnaires and medical record abstraction. Bivariate and multivariate analyses assessed factors associated with late ANC presentation.We recruited 807 pregnant women. Of these, 51% of rural women and 28% of peri-urban women presented late for first ANC. Rural women were more likely to present late for first ANC (AOR = 2.65; 95% CI 1.98-3.55) and report barriers to accessing ANC services (P<0.0001). Late ANC presentation in rural communities was associated with being married (AOR = 2.36; 95% CI 1.33-4.19), employed (AOR = 1.90; 95% CI 1.03-3.50),